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October
18, 2002

Bouncing
around for HaganSister and wife team up to support candidate

by Anthony Glassman

Cleveland�A fundraiser for Democratic gubernatorial candidate
Tim Hagan on October 10 brought over 100 people to Bounce nightclub in
Ohio City.

The fundraiser, aimed at the LGBT community, was held by Hagan�s sister,
Susan, left, and his wife, actress Kate Mulgrew.

�I think it was incredible,� said Susan Hagan, an out lesbian. �I know
my brother was touched by the outpouring from the performers, those who
donated their time and talent, and the incredible work the host committee
did.�

According to her, the benefit raised $8,623.01. �I have no idea where
the one cent came from,� she noted.

�I was very pleased to participate in a fundraiser for my brother,� she
continued, �and I�m happy Tim Hagan is my brother and not Newt Gingrich.
Tim�s support of the LGBT community is unwavering.�

The former Speaker of the House also has a lesbian sister, Candace Gingrich.

�It is imperative for Ohio�s LGBT community to offer financial and volunteer
support for Tim Hagan, as he is our first candidate for governor that
has publicly stated his support for civil unions,� Cleveland Stonewall
Democrats president Patrick Shepherd said, referring to Hagan�s statements
at his first, informal debate with incumbent Bob Taft.

Shepherd also noted that, with further donations coming in following
the event, the LGBT community in northeast Ohio raised over $10,000 for
Hagan�s campaign in the last week.

16
local candidates share their views at Stonewall night

by Kaizaad Kotwal

Columbus�Stonewall Community Action Network, the political lobbying
arm of Stonewall Columbus, teamed up with the Stonewall Democrats and
the Log Cabin Republicans on October 10 to host a candidates� night for
local offices and positions to be decided at the polls on November 5.

Held at the Stonewall Center on High Street, the evening attracted an
audience of 55 people, and 16 candidates or their representatives were
present to ask for the vote of the community.

All the candidates were given two minutes to make their case in front
of the audience. A lively question and answer session followed in which
the candidates being questioned were given a minute each to answer the
queries and concerns of the audience.

Many other candidates said they could not attend because six other candidates�
nights were being held by different constituencies across the city.

Most of the candidates present were running for an assortment of judicial
offices. Adam Miller, a candidate for Probate Court judge, said that when
elected, in his court, around the issue of adoption he would look at �whether
you are a good parent or not and that�s it.�

�We won�t go probing,� he said, into extraneous issues. �The court should
serve the community, and I mean the whole community.�

Patty Thomas, candidate for Domestic Relations judge, was represented
by Bill Hedrick, current president of the Stonewall Democrats.

Michael Holbrook, candidate for judge with the Court of Common Pleas
was represented by Trip Eagleson.

Three other candidates for the Court of Common Please were also present.
John Johnson, Jennifer Brunner, incumbent Daniel Hogan, and Joseph Mas
each made their appeal to the voters.

�The courts should be open for every citizen and that all people deserve
a fair shake in the legal system,� Johnson said.

Several candidates for the Court of Appeals came to the event. They included
Mark Froehlich, Lisa Sadler (represented by John Sadler of the Log Cabin
Republicans), Gary Tyack, Deborah O�Neill (represented by Eileen Paley),
and Judge Petrie.

The two candidates running for Franklin County Treasurer, Wade Steen
and Richard Cordray, both spoke about the need to tighten the reigns at
the office.

Incumbent Steen said that his office, compared to treasurer�s offices
in counties of similar size, was the most efficient and cost-effective
one.

Running for state representative in Districts 22 and 20 respectively
are Kenneth Schweickart and Fran Dennis. Schweickart said that his opponent,
incumbent Jim Hughes, had voted in favor of the �Defense of Marriage�
Act, and against anti-discrimination measures.

The DOMA act bars state recognition of same-sex relationships, and could
be used against local domestic partner measures. It passed the Ohio House
last year, and awaits Senate action.

�You may as well call DOMA the anti-gay and lesbian act,� Schweickart
said, promising to work for the LGBT community if elected. Dennis also
shared his promise of taking gay and lesbian concerns to the Ohio House.

Kathy Kerr, speaking on behalf of U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce, said that
Pryce, a moderate Republican, had been a long-standing ally of the LGBT
community having endorsed ENDA, the gay and lesbian Employment Non-Discrimination
Act. Kerr characterized this as �brave� for a Republican.

Most of the questions from the audience had to do with whether these
candidates would work actively to end discrimination against LGBT people
in the business and social realms of the community at large.

All the judicial candidates present as well as both candidates vying
for the Franklin County Treasurer�s seat said that they would work hard
to implement policies that further a non-discriminatory environment for
LGBT employees.

Two interim
directors to share Davids House top post

by Anthony Glassman

Toledo�Heather Stombaugh and Julie Embree are now sharing the
position of executive director of David�s House Compassion, the only AIDS
service organization in northwest Ohio.

The duo have been co-executive directors since October 1, when Skeeter
Hunt was terminated from the position.

Hunt was the organization�s fifth executive director in five years, and
her termination came two weeks after board member Jim Jeffries verbally
attacked her three times in the lobby of the Center for Science and Industry
in downtown Toledo, the site of the organization�s SRO Afterglow this
year.

SRO Afterglow is David�s House�s largest annual fundraiser.

Shortly after the September 14 benefit, sources inside David�s House
said that Jeffries� wrath was directed at Hunt for her criticism at board
meetings of the SRO planning committee.

�How dare you show your face here?� Jeffries yelled during one of his
lobby confrontations with then-executive director Hunt. �Someone should
call the police and have you removed.�

While some of Hunt�s dealings with the board were rancorous, her successors
were kinder.

�Skeeter worked hard, but she and the board had different visions for
the direction of the organization,� Embree said. �We wish her the best
of luck.�

While Embree and Stombaugh�s current position are technically interim,
the board is expected to take at least six months to find a permanent
director, opening the process to Toledo�s LGBT and AIDS communities.

�They are not in a hurry,� Embree noted. �They want to reach out to the
community to see what is the best way to serve clients.�

Embree�s permanent position is director of client services, while Stombaugh
is the director of grants and fundraising. The tandem interim appointment
is not unusual for the organization.

�We�ve had to step up before,� Embree said. �We�ve been without an executive
director before. Heather and I have both been part of the agency for quite
some time, and we have a wonderful working relationship.�

�I think the board recognizes that,� she concluded. �It�s great to work
together.�

Team Columbus
readies for Gay Games VI

by Jennifer Leymaster

Columbus--During the first week in November, more than 36 athletes
and 10 dedicated supporters will travel nearly 9,500 miles from Columbus
to Sydney, Australia to represent Team Columbus at the 2002 Gay Games
VI. Team Columbus is a group of swimmers, triathletes, bodybuilders, runners,
tennis players, and bowlers who will compete against more than 12,000
athletes from 72 other countries.

Columbus athletes have competed in the Gay Games before, most recently
in Amsterdam in 1998.

�In Amsterdam, I was floored by the level of support all over the city,�
said swimmer Julia Applegate. �As GLBT people, we are so often bombarded
by prejudice, hate and discrimination. The gay games are a place to be
bombarded by excitement, support, love and community.�

The athletic, cultural, and social events scheduled between November
2 and 9 will take place among some of the venues built for the 2000 Summer
Olympic Games. The opening ceremony in Aussie Stadium is expected to attract
nearly 40,000 spectators and will feature singers k.d. lang and Jimmy
Sommerville.

Bowler Jeff Short hopes to complete all of his individual, doubles, and
team events, despite some recent physical challenges that may prevent
him from competing at his personal best.

�I�m looking forward to making a trip that has always been a �dream trip�
and being able to at least complete the elimination rounds,� said Short.

For new Ohio Splash swimmer Pud Baird, the Gay Games will mark her first
international competition as well as a special personal milestone:

�My partner and I had attended Pride marches in Columbus and Washington,
D.C., and knew what it meant to be �the majority,� if only for once,�
she said. �And this year was our twentieth anniversary of being together.
What better way to celebrate our twentieth anniversary than by participating
in the Gay Games?�

Another swimmer, Rick Edwards, looks forward to repeating the positive
experience he had in Amsterdam.

�I think a sporting event like the Gay Games creates a healthy environment
for gay people to compete and socialize in, without fear of being alienated,�
said Edwards. �Competing in the gay games lets the world know that there
are healthy gay people everywhere.�

Miguel Perez will represent Team Columbus in singles and doubles tennis
competition.

�My goal is to be competitive and, more than anything, to have a good
time,� he said. While new to the Gay Games, he has competed in local,
national and international gay sporting events. �The incredible sense
of community and pride one feels is truly amazing,� said Perez.

When Team Columbus formed earlier this year, organizers envisioned a
team that would show the vibrancy of Columbus� gay and lesbian community.
Several events helped the group accomplish the goal of raising funds for
uniforms and a team banner for the November 2 opening ceremony.

Separately, the Ohio Splash swim team raised
enough money to cover swimmers� entry fees and offer several travel scholarships
to assist swimmers who would have been unable to make the trip otherwise.
Most recently, Team Columbus held a pep rally at Wall Street nightclub.

Columbus--Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and
their allies at Ohio State University celebrated National Coming Out Day
with a week of festivities and events.

On Thursday, October 10, the university�s LGBT student group Fusion and
the office of Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgendered Student Services held
a flag-raising ceremony followed by a series of short speeches.

Sophomore Nick Harrod of Rossburg, Ohio, and junior Chris Hendrickson
of Xenia raised the rainbow flag to fly alongside the American flag outside
the Student Union. From there, a group of about 30 people marched to the
intersection of High Street and 15th Avenue, one of the major student
thoroughfares on campus.

There, several people spoke about the courage it takes to come out and
why people should do so.

�Coming Out Day means a lot of different things to different people,�
said Gloria McCauley of the Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization,
�from celebrating one�s self to being able to party and take pride in
who we are.�

Linda Villarosa, a New York Times writer and featured guest at
several Coming Out Day activities, said that even though she was completely
out she found herself constantly coming out in different situations.

�I have been to New York Pride parades where there are thousands of people
who are out and proud,� she said, �but what you are doing here too, with
a smaller group, is just as important, is just as fantastic.�

Nick Harriod, Fusion�s treasurer, said that he was at the event �to show
my support for those who have come out and to give courage to those who
have yet to come out.�

�It is so terribly important,� he concluded, �to be able to be proud
of who you are.�

Social
justice center holds its first anti-violence
week

by Kaizaad Kotwal

Columbus�The Ohio Center for Social Justice held its first Anti-Violence
Week between September 5 and 12. All the events were held at the Thurber
Center in Columbus.

Perry Slone, the director of OCSJ, said that the attendance at the events
had been rather sparse partly due to the newness of the organization and
partly due to competing events being held during the Anti-Violence Week.

�Next year we hope to coordinate better with other agencies doing the
kind of work we do,� he said, �so that we might better reach people.�

Slone also said that with next year the fifth anniversary of Matthew
Shepard�s murder in Laramie, Wyoming, OCSJ hoped to plan an anti-violence
week with a special emphasis on anti-gay violence.

This year the events ranged from seminars and a resources expo to video
screenings and a candlelight vigil. One of the videos screened was Scout�s
Honor, which tells the story of Steven Cozza, a young heterosexual
Boy Scout who has worked to end the Scouts� anti-gay policies.

Gruetli-Laager, Tenn.�A North Carolina businessman has dropped
plans to open a gay resort in Grundy County after the site was heavily
vandalized.

�This is a place I�m asking friends and guests to come to, and there�s
no way I would do that without knowing they would be 100 percent safe,�
Allan Winkler said. �I�ve already received ten death threats by e-mail.�

Winkler said he had planned the retreat for four years and expected it
to open in the spring. He said only members were supposed to know the
location, but someone somehow found it.

The security gate system was stolen and a one-story office building was
demolished on the 75-acre site, he said. A water main was broken and the
concrete septic tank lid was shattered.

Winkler said that it appeared that a tractor had been driven through
the building, pushing it down. He discovered the vandalism on October
13, along with several dead dogs left at the site.

Winkler said he thought Grundy County was a good location for his Blue
Fox Retreat because of its outdoor beauty. He said he had never before
had problems with the local residents until a church raised a controversy
last month about the resort.

Winkler called the American Civil Liberties Union and the Human Rights
Campaign, a gay and lesbian civil rights group, about the vandalism.

Dyana Mason, southern field organizer for the Human Rights Campaign in
Washington, D.C., said she called the sheriff�s department about the investigation.

�If it does turn out to be a hate crime, we want to make sure justice
is done,� she said.

Gruetli-Laager is 30 miles northwest of Chattanooga.

Fugitive killer is found dead

New York City�A fugitive who vanished seven years ago while awaiting
retrial for killing a gay man was found dead in Mexico, a prosecutor said
October 12.

Esat Bici, 30, and another man were found shot to death on Oct. 2 in
a Tijuana apartment, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. Mexican
authorities said it appeared the shootings were drug related.

Bici, Erik Brown and Daniel Doyle--all members of a gang known as the
Doc Martens Skinheads or Death Machine Skinheads--were convicted in 1991
of beating and stabbing Julio Rivera, 29, because he was gay.

In 1995, an appellate court overturned Bici and Brown�s convictions on
procedural matters. Bici fled after being released on $350,000 bail.

The New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project had posted a
$10,000 reward for information leading to Bici�s arrest.

Reports that Bici was touring in Europe in 1996 with the New York City
hardcore band Madball prompted an international manhunt.

According to trial testimony, Bici, Brown and Doyle set out early July
2, 1990, to attack a gay person. They soon met Rivera and lured him into
a Jackson Heights schoolyard where he was beaten and stabbed.

Doyle was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Brown pleaded guilty to manslaughter
before retrial in 1996 and was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison.

Marriage ban issue won�t be revived

Boston�A Massachusetts Supreme Court justice on October 10 dismissed
a lawsuit by anti-marriage activists who sought to pressure lawmakers
into taking a second look at a proposed constitutional amendment.

The activists were upset that legislators killed the measure earlier
this year. Last month, the state House and Senate voted to adjourn a joint
session without taking a vote on the voter-initiated amendment, which
would have defined marriage in Massachusetts as a union between one man
and one woman.

Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage sued Senate President Tom Birmingham,
D-Chelsea, who presided over the joint session, with the hope of reviving
the question.

Supreme Court Justice Francis X. Spina dismissed the lawsuit because
the group sued Birmingham as a private citizen rather than in his capacity
as president of the Senate.

Spina said that as a private citizen, Birmingham has no authority over
the Senate and as Senate president, Birmingham is shielded against the
lawsuit.

Paris mayor leaves intensive care

Paris�Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, who was hospitalized October 6 after
being stabbed during an all-night public party at the French capital�s
city hall, was transferred out of intensive care on October 11.

Delanoe underwent emergency surgery at Pitie Salpetriere hospital shortly
after an assailant stabbed him in the abdomen during Paris� �Sleepless
Night� festival.

The openly gay Delanoe, 52, suffered injuries to the stomach, the intestines
and the vena cava, a major vein that brings blood from the lower body
to the heart.

Delanoe is expected to be released from the hospital in about five days
but won�t be back at work for several weeks.

The suspect in the stabbing, Azedine Berkane, 39, has told investigators
that he committed the crime out of a dislike of gays and politicians,
authorities said. Berkane has been placed under formal investigation,
one step short of being charged.

Psychiatrist appeals tuition repayment

San Francisco�A gay psychiatrist ordered to repay the U.S. Air
Force $71,000 for his education argued to an appeals court October 9 he
doesn�t owe the government anything and the military�s policy is discriminatory.

Dr. John Hensala, 38, attended medical school at Northwestern University,
served his three-year residency at Yale University and received a two-year
fellowship at the University of California at San Francisco--all with
the understanding that, in exchange, he owed the Air Force four years
of active duty service.

Shortly before he began his service, he came out. The Air Force promptly
discharged him and demanded its money back, saying Hensala voluntarily
failed to complete his service commitment.

In June 2001, a federal judge ruled in the Air Force�s favor, dismissing
the case.

The judges peppered both lawyers with questions during their arguments.
They were particularly interested in learning what Hensala knew about
Air Force policy and when he knew it.

Judge Richard Paez asked the government�s lawyer: �Did he have knowledge
that if he made these statements [coming out] that that would be considered
a voluntary separation,� hence making him responsible for repayment?

�Defying the �Don�t ask, don�t tell� policy� was the �functional equivalent
of a voluntary separation,� was the reply.

Hensala has contended all along he was willing to serve, but the Air
Force simply refused to allow that.

The judges have no deadline to make a decision.

Teen sex law appealed to high court

Washington, D.C.�The Kansas �Romeo and Juliet� law is being appealed
to the U.S. Supreme Court on the grounds that it violates the equal protection
clause of the Constitution.

Matthew Limon is appealing a 17-year prison sentence
he got for having consensual oral sex with a nearly-15-year-old male.
Limon, who had turned 18 only a week before the incident, would have been
sentenced to a maximum of 15 months if he and his partner had been members
of the opposite sex, because the �Romeo and Juliet� law applies only to
heterosexuals.

Under the Kansas law, consensual oral sex between two teens is a lesser
crime if the younger teenager is 14 to 16 years old and the older teenager
is under 19, and if the two �are members of the opposite sex.�

In papers filed October 10, the American Civil Liberties Union asked
the Supreme Court to consider the constitutionality of Limon�s sentence.

�Because he had sex with another boy instead of a girl, Matthew Limon
will be behind bars until he�s 36 years old,� said Matt Coles, the ACLU
Lesbian and Gay Rights Project�s director. �After that he will have to
undergo five years of supervision, and he will be permanently branded
a child molester--all for a consensual act with a boy who was only three
years and a month younger. If he were heterosexual, he would have been
out of jail long ago.�

Senator defends �hairdresser� ad

Red Lodge, Mont.�Sen. Max Baucus defended a Democratic Party advertisement
that his opponent cited in dropping out of the race and said October 12
the response surprised him.

Republican Mike Taylor left the race Oct. 10, saying the TV commercial
portrayed him as a gay hairdresser. The ad accused Taylor of mishandling
student loan money while running a beauty school in the 1990s.

The TV commercial includes videotape of Taylor, 20 years younger and
wearing an open-front shirt and gold chains while he massages a man�s
face.

The videotape was from Taylor�s �Beauty Corner,� a television segment
he hosted on a Colorado news program during the 1980s.

The ads were met with mixed reactions from gay groups and cosmetologists.
Some argued that the ads amounted to gay-baiting on the part of the Democrat;
others questioned what the point was, noting that being a gay man or a
hairdresser did not preclude Taylor being a good senator.

Baucus made his first public comments on Taylor�s announcement Oct. 11
during campaign stops. Baucus said he was not involved in the advertisement
and first saw it aired a week ago.

�It�s totally factual. It�s totally accurate,� Baucus said.

The Democrats� ad cited U.S. Department of Education documents that concluded
Taylor�s Institute for Hair Design provided loans to students ineligible
for financial assistance and failed to properly refund student loan money
when they left school.

Taylor had trailed badly in polls. His name will remain on the ballot
for the Nov. 5 election.

Hate crime is charged in attacks

Los Angeles�Two teenagers were charged with hate crimes in separate
baseball bat attacks on men they thought were gay, more than a month after
protests over the lack of such charges in an earlier beating.

Investigators determined that the victims of the October 14 attacks were
assaulted because of their perceived sexual orientation. One of the victims
said his attackers used anti-gay slurs.

The attacks occurred just east of West Hollywood, where a Sept. 1 attack
on a gay actor is being prosecuted as a robbery and assault. The decision
by Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley not to file hate
crime charges in that case has prompted picketing of Cooley�s office and
a petition drive to recall him. Cooley defended his action, saying investigators
found the only motive was robbery.

In the most recent attacks, a 46-year-old man was struck on the head
with a bat by a pair of assailants. Soon after, a 19-year-old man was
assaulted, warding off blows from the bat but getting cut by a knife,
authorities said.

Ever Wilfredo Rivera and Selvin Orlando Campos, both 19, were charged
with two counts each of hate crime, robbery and assault with a deadly
weapon. The hate crime counts can add up to four years on any sentence.

Bruno is explaining to the Mother Superior (Kathy Bates) of his Catholic
school why he wants to wear a dress to school. His best friend (Kiami
Davael), a tomgirl, prefers to dress as a boy, but no one�s that concerned
about her.

It�s no longer politically correct to make fun of a �sissy� in public.
But American audiences are more than willing, eager and encouraged to
watch movies that make fun of and laugh at sissies.

But if you want to make Americans very uncomfortable, and want to bring
the full wrath of the gender police upon you, just try to make a serious
movie about a sissy.

Shirley MacLaine learned this lesson the hard way. For her directorial
debut, MacLaine chose to bring to the screen the story of a boy who prefers
to dress as a girl. She told TV Guide in January 2001, �There was
this terrible humiliation of not being able to get a distributor. I went
to every studio, and they adored the movie but said, �We don�t know how
to market it.� �

Translation: We don�t know how to market it so audiences won�t feel threatened
and uncomfortable.

Seriously suggesting that it might be okay for a boy or girl to cross
gender lines is strictly taboo. In 2002, gender roles in our society are
still fiercely enforced.

So why are we now seeing more and more movies depicting boys and girls
in drag? Are the traditional gender cops such as parents, the church,
the government, the military and peer pressure becoming more tolerant
of sexual diversity?

Cindy Martin, the publisher and editor of Transgender Forum (www.tgforum.com)
believes they are.

�The most impressive thing I�ve seen in the last year has been the adoption
of anti-bias laws for transgenders in cities and counties far outside
the elite liberal cities on the coasts,� she says.

�As we�ve become less exotic, parents may now
be a little less queasy about seeing kids their own children�s ages depicted
on screen as less than traditional. They still may not like the idea that
their kid is �different.� But, at least they know that the �unusual� kid
will probably not face the kind of ferocious bias they would have faced
a generation ago.�

In the past, with a few notable exceptions such as The Member of the
Wedding (1953) and West Side Story (1961), drag was primarily
used as a sight gag and almost always featured an adult.

Serious dramas about boys and girls who freely choose to dress in �gender-inappropriate�
attire and for the most part don�t care what anyone else thinks, began
about ten years ago.

When it comes to frankly exploring sexual issues, European cinema is
always a decade or so ahead of American film. So it makes sense that Agnes
Varda�s French drama Jacquot (1991) would be the first film to
cross adolescent gender lines. In this bio-pic about filmmaker Jacques
Demy, the budding teenage filmmaker enlists the support of all the boys
in the neighborhood for his movie. When one of the boys objects to dressing
in drag as a girl, another boy gladly takes the role.

A few years later, British director and screenwriter Andrew Birkin�s
Cement Garden (1993) took it a step further. This story of incest
and survival revolves around four siblings who decide to survive on their
own (rather than be placed in a foster home) following the deaths of their
parents. The youngest boy (Ned Birkin), about nine years old, wears a
dress through much of the film because he thinks he would rather be a
girl.

Canadian writer/director Jeremy Podeswa�s The Five Senses (2000)
went even further. Brendan Fletcher plays a teen voyeur who likes to spy
on gay men having sex in a park. He also discovers that he likes to dress
up in women�s sexy lingerie while wearing makeup and a wig.

These three films, however, were merely a tease. Director Alain Berliner�s
1998 French drama My Life In Pink (aka Ma Vie En Rose) went
all the way.

In a brave and powerful performance, Georges Du Fresne plays a seven-year-old
boy who becomes an outcast in his neighborhood, his school and in his
own family because he wants to live and dress as a girl. When his family
is forced to move to another town, the boy meets a girl who wants to live
and dress like a boy. In the end, his family decides to accept him and
let him be who he is.

But the cinematic home run was hit in 2000. British director Stephen
Daldry�s Billy Elliott made this difficult topic palatable to American
audiences and even received an Oscar nomination.

Billy Elliott features Jamie Bell in the title role as an 11-year-old
boy who prefers learning to dance to learning to box. While Bell pushes
the gender envelope, his father and brother are homophobic miners who
forcefully push back.

Bell doesn�t want to dress in drag, but instead discovers his best friend
(Stuart Wells) wearing a dress and makeup. He�s accepting of his friend
when he comes on to him sexually, but says that just because he likes
ballet doesn�t mean he�s a poof. But it doesn�t mean he�s not, either.
And the film is brave enough to leave the question unanswered.

Even though the British-made Billy Elliott was a critical and
financial success, The Dress Code, produced the same year, was
still a little too close to home for American studios to embrace.

So what, if anything, do these handful of films have to say about gender
in America? Are these films simply a reflection of a society that now
sexualizes children at a much younger age?

Cindy Martin believes that �All media is a reflection of social change.
Kids are exposed to a lot of sexual imagery, but are kids really
having sex at an earlier age than say 20 or 30 years ago? I don�t think
they are, other than in the most distressed communities.�

Are children more aware of sexuality today and less threatened by diversity
than in the past?

�There�s no question that in both grade school and high school the �diversity
is good� message is hammered into them. This began with sensitivity about
race and ethnicity and has pretty naturally flowed into positive, or at
least fair, messages to kids about homosexuality,� says Martin.

�American teachers are among the most liberal group of people in the
country,� she continues, �and there is no question that they�ve eagerly
embraced the diversity message. They�re faced with it every day!�

It may still be an uphill battle to honestly depict gender diversity
on film, but Martin remains positive. �Even if these films are part of
a fad, and I know they are, the very fact that they are produced at all
speaks volumes about how far all of us have come on issues involving gender
and sex.����

Steve Stewart is the author of Out on the Screen:
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Guidebook to more than 2,000
movies and videos from around the world, and the Full-Frontal Newsletter,
a free monthly guide to nudity in the movies. Both are available at www.companionpress.com.